


ways to get even

by realdefonge



Category: Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: 2park, College Setting, Comedy, Crack, Fake Dating, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Ongniel, Romance, minhwan, ongniel whipped for each other but what's new
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:40:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28713675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realdefonge/pseuds/realdefonge
Summary: Seongwu formed the poetry club with his friends because of his love for poetry and lack of interest in any other clubs. The only members are his group of friends who’ve been single all their lives, that is until said friends started dating each other, leaving Seongwu as the only single member left in the club.But Seongwu has had enough. He refuses to be the odd one out in the club. He’ll make sure to bring a boyfriend to their next party, even if it means he has to hire one.AKA an au where Seongwu tries to get even with his friends by asking the cute nerd Daniel, whom he had just met in the park, to act as his boyfriend.
Relationships: Kang Daniel/Ong Seongwu
Comments: 10
Kudos: 53





	ways to get even

**Author's Note:**

> \- hello clowns it's me again  
> \- first au for 2021 and it's a crack-ish one lmao I'm sorry  
> \- will I ever get tired of the fake dating trope? never  
> \- this was supposed to be a drabble but I got drunk and ended up writing more scenarios so ta-dah  
> \- inspired by Start Up (team Jipyeong, by the way), Genshin Impact (part of the reason why I'm inactive is because i use my free time in playing that game), and of course, ongniel (because they'll always have my heart)
> 
> anyway, please enjoy! idk if this is even good or whatever but please do let me know in the comments, or just hit me up on twitter or cc!

“Can I please go home now?” 

Seongwu asks with a groan as Woojin’s phone, which is situated on the table in front and is set in burst mode, continues to snap pictures of all five members of the poetry club. They’re currently having a year-end party in Minhyun’s house, and Seongwu’s currently stuck with his annoying club members who also happen to be his closest friends, unfortunately.

Don’t get him wrong. Seongwu loves his friends, but they can be a bunch of asshats sometimes. One of those times would include the current party, in which his asshat friends—who were all single when they first formed the club two years ago—are now shoving their disgustingly sweet relationships in front of the lone single man, Seongwu. 

Seongwu thinks the whole situation is fucking ridiculous. Not because he’s the only single member in their club now, but because the whole point of their club used to be, in Kim Jaehwan’s words, about  _ ‘good-looking friends who share a common ground in their state of singleness’.  _

It used to be a singles-since-birth club disguised as a poetry club (because only Seongwu is actually interested in poetry and the rest just tagged along in the name of friendship), but now the essence is all gone, thanks to his friends who’ve suddenly realized that they like each other all along, making Seongwu the odd single one out.

One night, after hanging out with his friends (and having too much alcohol), Seongwu finally made use of his role as the poetry club’s president and wrote—guess what—a poem, about the unfairness he felt.

> _ The only one without a partner _
> 
> _ Blame it on the number _
> 
> _ Because five is an odd digit _
> 
> _ And God decided in a minute _
> 
> _ To make Ong Seongwu _
> 
> _ The sacrificial lamb, woohoo! _

The paper containing that poem was quickly burned to ashes as soon as Seongwu got sober the next morning. He’s actually good at writing poems, just don’t make him write while he’s drunk.

Anyway, ever since his friends started dating, he became  _ that _ friend who stands in the middle holding a bottle of soju, looking single as fuck, while his taken friends are happily cuddling on both sides. That is Seongwu’s exact situation as of the moment. 

Seongwu knows that his friends are just teasing him, so he makes some funny faces and expressions on camera, but deep inside he is mentally strangling them for their betrayal.

“Just date someone, hyung,” says Woojin as he checks the pictures with a snort. “God, you look so funny here,”

“Let me see,” his boyfriend, Jihoon, chimes in as he joins the little devil in laughing at the pictures. “I kinda feel sorry for laughing,”

“Are you, though?” Seongwu asks with a roll of his eyes. Jihoon and Woojin joined the club a year ago and they got together after six months, just a few months after Minhyun and Jaehwan, who formed the club with him, started dating. 

Seongwu still can’t believe that his friends really started seeing each other one after the other. At first, he found it amusing. Now he’s just questioning the heavens.  _ Why must I be the only forsaken one?! _

_ The audacity of these spawns of satan to date, _ Seongwu thinks to himself as he observes Woojin and Jihoon acting lovey-dovey for a moment, then immediately shouting their lungs out at each other at the next second. Heaven knows what they’re even arguing about.  _ Seriously, how did these two get together? It’s such a mystery. _

Still, Seongwu observes them with a fond look masked by his default frown. Despite acting annoyed, the truth is he’s genuinely happy for his friends who have finally found love.

If only love will finally make its way to Seongwu, too. The question is, will it ever? And if it will come, when? How?  _ Who? _

But Seongwu is already tired of asking. It’s not like he’s desperate to be in a relationship anyway. He thinks it’s such a drag; such a waste of time. He’s not even sure if he could invest his time and feelings on someone else when he’s too busy surviving college and life in general.

“Where should we have our New Year party? It’s next week, you know,” a drunk Jaehwan asks, his arms wrapped around Minhyun’s waist. He tightens his hold on his boyfriend as he shots Seongwu a teasing look. “I’ll prepare an expensive bottle of wine for you in the next party’s group picture, hyung,”

Seongwu fake-laughs at that. “Don’t get too ahead of yourself, Jae. You’ll never know what life could give me in a week,”

“If you mean a boyfriend, then I think a week is too short,” Minhyun comments. 

“Oh, don’t underestimate me,” Seongwu places his hands on his hips smugly. “I am single by choice. If I want to date, then I will date. It’s not that hard,”

“Says the only single one in this room,” Jihoon teases as he gives Woojin a fist bump. “Trust us, hyung. It’s not easy. It’s a complicated process, especially when you realize you’ve really fallen and you’re not quite sure what to do about it,”

“That was fuckin’ cheesy but very spot-on,” Woojin fist-bumps Jihoon again in approval. Seongwu mentally recites South Korea’s national anthem to hold himself back from throwing his friends out the window.

“Let’s see who’ll get the last laugh at the next party,” Seongwu forewarns with a chug of soju. 

“I’ll make you all look ridiculous in the New Year group picture.”

* * *

  
  


Seongwu is fucked. He should’ve known better than to run his mouth while drunk. And he should’ve known that Mr. Witty Ass Park Woojin would record his declaration of getting a boyfriend in a week just to spite him.

Now Seongwu really can’t back out. He really has to find a boyfriend before the New Year party even if it means he has to spend an entire month’s allowance. Yes, he’s willing to go as far as to pay a random guy to act as his boyfriend just to save face.

But how and where could he find a guy who’d agree to that on such short notice?

“Calm down, self,” Seongwu tells himself as he takes steady breaths. “First, let’s look for someone approachable. See if he’s into guys—well, if he swings both ways, that’s fine, too—then negotiate nicely. Don’t stutter or else you’ll look hella suspicious. Give him a sweet smile, not one that looks like you’ve got ill intentions, then—” 

Seongwu was in the middle of giving himself some instructions while walking around the park when he spots a distinct figure in one of the swings. The figure is distinct not because of the blonde hair, Captain America-esque back, and shoulders wider than the Pacific Ocean (even though Seongwu has to admit, that’s what he noticed at first), but because of the familiar varsity jacket worn by the said figure.

It’s their university’s varsity jacket. That silky, fuchsia pink jacket that everyone on campus refuses to wear even if their lives depend on it (except for this guy, apparently) is no doubt, the university’s jacket.

There’s someone in Seongwu’s neighborhood aside from his four annoying friends who go to the same university as him, and yet he never knew? 

Seongwu stealthily moves closer to take a good look at the guy. He looks down to see what’s got the blonde so preoccupied and soon finds out that the latter is busy playing a game on his phone. 

_ So he hangs out at the park on a non-school day while wearing the university’s ugly ass jacket, just to play a game? This is one unusual dude. _

The blonde has probably sensed his presence because he suddenly stands up and turns to Seongwu, making him take a quick step back.

“I’m really sorry for startling you! I’m not some weirdo! I was just—”

Seongwu’s still trying to come up with excuses for himself but the words immediately get caught in his throat as soon as Mr. Wide-Shouldered Blondie’s face finally comes into full view.

The tragic wardrobe choices, disheveled golden hair that looks worse than a bird’s nest, and huge spectacles that cover half of his face aren’t enough to hide the blonde’s beauty. Contrary to his build, he has soft facial features, akin to that of an innocent puppy.

His overall aura lights a bulb in Seongwu’s head.  _ Well, this guy looks kind and understanding. And he’s cute. Very cute. Maybe, just maybe— _

  
  


“Seongwu _ -sunbaenim?” _

  
  


Seongwu’s words are cut off when he suddenly hears his name escape the blonde’s pretty lips.  _ He knows me? _

“Ong Seongwu-sunbaenim from the Literature department?” the blonde repeats, followed by a respectful bow. 

Seongwu absentmindedly bows back, then asks, “Uhm, and you are?”

“Kang Daniel, a junior from the Computer Engineering department,” the blonde responds in a soft yet thick voice. Seongwu also notices the accent, so he’s probably not from Seoul. “Oh, our buildings are next to each other. And you are famous in your department, so…”

“I see,” Seongwu blinks at Daniel, partly because he’s still processing the fact that the cute blonde actually knows him (although he can’t deny that he is quite famous in their department), and also because he spotted a beauty mark just below Daniel’s eye, which he finds really attractive. _ Damn, I wanna remove those huge eyeglasses so bad. _

“Is there…anything you want to say to me, sunbaenim?” Daniel asks hesitantly, which makes Seongwu realize he’s staring way too hard at the younger. He quickly gets his act together and puts on his best smile, hoping it didn’t turn out looking creepy or something.

_ I’ve got no time to hesitate. I must give this a chance! _

“Yes, I actually have a favor to ask, Daniel-sshi,”

Daniel chuckles shyly as he lowers his head. “Ah, just Daniel is fine.”

“Alright then, Daniel,” Seongwu clears his throat. He doesn’t know how to ask for this favor in a way that doesn’t sound weird so he just goes straight to the point. “Our club will be having a New Year party next week and I need a fake boyfriend to accompany me to that party. So, will you be my fake boyfriend?”

Daniel quickly looks up at Seongwu with wide eyes, his whole body stiff like he had just been frozen to death.

Seongwu’s laugh sounds dry and forced as he tries to make sense of his favor.  _ “Ahahaha… _ well, you see, I’m definitely not the type to just randomly ask a guy out. I’m asking because I’m in a pinch, and you look like my type—”  _ Shit! _ “No, I mean, someone whom I’d see myself dating—”  _ Fuck!  _ “Wait, that’s not it! I mean, someone whom I could get along with! Someone who looks kind enough to understand my situation and help me out!”

By the time he’s done, Seongwu’s already catching his breath like he’d just run a thousand laps. Who would’ve thought that trying to find excuses would tire him out that much?

_ Jihoon was right. Getting into a relationship, albeit a fake one, isn’t easy. _

“And I am that someone?” Daniel asks after a few seconds of awkward silence.

Seongwu slowly nods. He could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks from embarrassment. “Yeah, I guess you could say that?”

Daniel is quiet again. Seongwu gives him a look and notices the blonde’s expression, like he’s deeply contemplating something. A rush of shame comes over Seongwu as he sighs in surrender.

“I’m sorry. I know I’m being shameless and absurd. I’d totally understand if you turn me down. It’s just that when I saw you, I don’t know, I felt like I had found the right person—I mean, the  _ answer _ to my problem. Anyway, if you do accept, I’ll make sure to properly compensate you—” 

“I’ll do it.”

“—for your time—” Seongwu snaps his head up at Daniel. “Wait, what?”

“I’ll do it, sunbaenim,” Daniel repeats, his eyes unwavering as he looks at Seongwu. “I’ll accompany you to that party. As your fake boyfriend.”

“Huh?” Seongwu asks again, just to make sure he wasn’t hearing things. “You what?”

Daniel laughs, which brings Seongwu’s sanity back from outer space, only to send it flying again to some other dimension.  _ Dang, he looks even cuter when he smiles. _

“That’s a funny reaction from the person who asked for this favor,” Daniel says after laughing for five good seconds. “Sunbaenim, I said I’ll go to that party with you as your fake boyfriend.”

When it finally sinks in, Seongwu could only let out an  _ ‘Oh’ _ sound, followed by more blinking. 

After the initial disbelief, he finally gives Daniel a relieved and thankful smile. Perhaps it’s the compensation that finally made the blonde take the bait. Whatever the case may be, Seongwu is saved for now.

He reaches out a hand towards Daniel, which the latter stares at for a while, before slowly taking it in for a handshake.

“Thank you for accepting this deal, Daniel. I’d also like to ask for your full cooperation this week so our fake relationship could proceed smoothly at the party.”

Daniel bows with a smile. “Yes, you have my full cooperation, sunbaenim. 

I’ll be in your care this week.”

* * *

  
  


Truth be told, Seongwu almost called the deal off with Daniel as soon as he got home after meeting the blonde in the park. He felt like he just got splashed with an ice-cold bucket of reality, realizing he might have gotten himself and an innocent junior into something chaotic. 

Since he had already exchanged numbers with Daniel, he thought he should just text the blonde and apologize for taking a bit of his time just to entertain Seongwu’s nonsense. 

He had already prepared the message in the drafts—something along the lines of,  _ ‘Hey, it’s me. That handsome weirdo from the park earlier. Listen, I am going through things at the moment which often makes me talk before I think. The thing is, I want you to forget about the favor I asked for. I hope we can just meet again under better circumstances, you know, when I’m not being weird and all that shit,’— _ and he was about to press send, when Daniel’s name suddenly popped on his screen along with his phone’s default call ringtone.

Long story short, Daniel called him. They talked about the fake boyfriend thing and how they’re supposed to go about it. Daniel sounded really enthusiastic on the other line while Seongwu was half laughing and half drenching in cold sweat in the middle of winter. 

Seongwu wanted to find the right timing to call the whole thing off, but as the minutes passed by, he found himself slowly getting immersed in his conversation with Daniel. The blonde’s easy-going nature quickly drew him in. It didn’t take long for them to vibe like they’ve been besties since they were in diapers.

And after that, the rest was history. They met the next day to discuss their act further, which turned into five minutes of planning and five hours of talking about SpongeBob, Daniel’s cats, Seongwu’s poems that he wrote under the influence of alcohol (which Daniel found hilarious), and other nonsense topics that they could come up with. One meetup led to another, until they finally got to D-1 before the New Year party.

So here they are now, in their usual meeting place near the park in their neighborhood, at their usual table, with their usual drinks. Funny how Seongwu thinks of all those things as  _ usual _ when they’ve only been meeting in that café for five days now.

“Okay, okay! Back to the matter at hand,” Seongwu says as he slaps the table with his palm after taking a sip of his macchiato. As usual, they only managed to talk about the fake dating plan before their conversation quickly diverted into the unknown. “So, we’ll just say we matched on Tinder last week and we clicked right away,”

Daniel nods as he adjusts his glasses. “I saw your profile, then I quickly swiped left—”

“Right.”

_ “—right, _ got it,” Daniel repeats the correction as he scribbles on his Spider-Man notepad. He said it’s essential to take notes so he could review it later and make sure he won’t fuck things up tomorrow. “Then we matched. I messaged you first, we found out that we go to the same university, we exchanged numbers, then we met the next day, then I helped you write a poem, then we developed feelings because of that, then we started dating the day after. And tomorrow would be our 5 th day as a couple—”

“Damn,” Seongwu’s snort suddenly interrupts Daniel’s summary of their fake dating history. “The more I listen to it, the more ridiculous it sounds. I mean, my friends are a bunch of annoying idiots, but they would definitely know right away that this is all just a setup.”

“Then,” Daniel places his pen down and leans back on his chair. “What should we do?”

Daniel’s expression as he deeply contemplates on a solution—with his lips pursed together and his hands struggling to get folded across his chest due to the thickness of his pink puffer jacket—puts a tender smile on Seongwu’s face.  _ Look at this adorable, giant fluffball. _

But he quickly brushes away his thoughts, because it’s not appropriate to have such thoughts for a guy he just met, right?

Seongwu throws his hands in the air in frustration. He is already in a huge dilemma because of the fake dating thing, but now he has to think about his budding feelings for the cute geek that he found in the park just five days ago? “Ugh, screw it. Let’s just go with what we’ve come up with so far. There’s no time to revise,”

Daniel taps his pen against the table while adjusting his glasses, his eyes darting around Seongwu’s face as if he’s studying a very interesting specimen. All that staring makes Seongwu want to mentally scream at the rioting butterflies in his stomach.

_ “Hyung,” _

Seongwu almost slips from his chair because of that  _ ‘hyung’. _ He was the one who asked Daniel to just address him that way instead of ‘ _ sunbaenim’, _ but now he’s the one suffering because of it. There’s something about the way Daniel says it—and about the way Daniel looks at him when he says it—that makes Seongwu weak.

He quickly takes a sip of his coffee and looks around the café like it’s a place he has never been to before. “Yeah?”

“Do you want to make it look convincing?”

_ “Pfft. _ Is there even a way? They’ll catch us right away no matter what kind of sob story we put out.”

“If we don’t want to get caught, then let’s just tell the story as it is. Let’s make it natural,” Daniel shrugs. “No tinder, no swiping left or right. Just facts with a sprinkle of lies. Just say we met at the park, clicked right away, exchanged contact info, and now we’re dating while still getting to know each other.”

_ That definitely sounds like our current status minus the dating part, _ Seongwu thinks, his brain denying the fact that he’s a tad bit disappointed.

“That could work,” Seongwu agrees after a few seconds of pondering. “But you know what, if we get caught, it’s all on me. I won’t blame you, and I’d still fulfill my end of the bargain, so don’t worry.”

Daniel gives him a confused look. “Your end of the bargain?”

Seongwu returns the look of confusion. “The payment? I told you I’d pay you for your time and effort, remember?”

“Ah, you did?” Daniel’s expression turns vague for a split second, but he quickly puts on his default smile before Seongwu could even try to figure out what that expression meant. 

Despite the smile on Daniel’s face, Seongwu still can’t help but feel uneasy. “Isn’t that why you agreed to help me?”

Daniel studies Seongwu’s face again for a while, then he heaves out a sigh and chuckles. “You’ll get the answer to that tomorrow, hyung.”

“What? Why tomorrow?” Seongwu asks, but Daniel is already packing up his things while glancing at his wristwatch. “I won’t be able to sleep tonight unless I get an answer!”

Instead of answering, Daniel just gives Seongwu a wink. “Gotta go. I have a meeting in an hour. See you tomorrow, hyung.”

_ Oh, that cute geek turns out to be a cheeky little bastard, huh? _ “Meeting? What meeting? Wait, Daniel!” Seongwu gets up from his seat in an attempt to stop the blonde, but Daniel is already scampering out of their spot. “Hey—ah, whatever. Don’t forget to dress up tomorrow, okay?” he reminds, loud enough for the blonde to hear. Daniel gives an okay sign with his fingers before completely exiting the café. 

Seongwu plops back down on his seat and tries not to think too much about what Daniel said. He’ll get an answer tomorrow, anyway.

_ But I really don’t think I’d be able to sleep tonight. _

* * *

  
  


“Haha! A boyfriend? You’re totally bluffing, hyung,” 

“Shut up, Jaehwan. I’m totally not bluffing,” Seongwu scoffs, his foot lightly tapping the floor as he checks his phone every second to see if Daniel had replied to his  _ ‘When will you get here?’  _ messages which he’d been spamming nonstop for ten minutes now. “And he’ll be here! Just got caught in a traffic jam,”

Seongwu prays that it really is just a traffic jam, and not Daniel deciding to ditch him at the last minute. The blonde’s last text to him was that he’ll be a bit late since he had to pick up his suit, but that was an hour ago.

_ From which fucking side of the planet did he pick his suit up?! _

“Hyung, it’s okay,” Woojin fake-cries as he wraps a hand around Seongwu’s shoulder. “You didn’t have to go this far to get back at us for teasing your single ass. We’ll be more considerate from now on.”

Seongwu shakes Woojin’s hand away and stomps his feet in frustration. It’s true that he’s faking his relationship, but now he’s too pissed to admit defeat. “Just wait and see! My boyfriend exists and he’ll be here!”

“Fine, let’s say that you do have one,” the calmer one among the crazies, Hwang Minhyun, suddenly interjects “What kind of person is he? You literally haven’t told us anything about this boyfriend of yours yet.”

Seongwu freezes for a second—his brain trying to come up with the description of a typical, swoony, lead character from a romance movie—but then he suddenly remembers Daniel’s words:

> _ If we don’t want to get caught, then let’s just tell the story as it is. _

And since he has no time to think further, he decides to just heed Daniel’s advice and go with the natural flow.

“He’s…a junior from our university,” Seongwu begins as he tries to control his expression. “He’s a bit geeky, but he’s really cute, like a puppy. He looks timid, but he’s really fun to talk to. I like spending time with him. I feel like he always gets me, and I get him, you know what I’m saying? Anyway, his fashion is on the questionable side, but there’s more to him than that—"

  
  


“Hyung,” Jihoon interrupts, his face ashen like he’d just seen a ghost. “I don’t think that’s how you should describe Kang Daniel-sunbaenim,”

  
  


“What? I’m describing Kang Daniel perfectly—” Seongwu pauses, then he grabs Jihoon by the shoulders and yells, “You know Daniel?!”

  
  


“Yeah, I know Jihoon-sshi quite a bit.”

  
  
  


A familiar voice says from behind, making Seongwu jump in place. He holds his breath as he turns around, but the air gets knocked out of his lungs as soon as he sees the man in front of him.

It’s Daniel, of course, but not the usual geeky Daniel who wears fluffy, bright sweaters and thick-rimmed glasses, but Daniel who is wearing a black velvet suit with his blonde hair swept back and his eyes donned in gray contacts, looking like a full-course meal.

“D-Daniel!” Seongwu’s voice breaks unconsciously, his head still trying to wrap around the holy sight of his fake boyfriend. Still, he’s able to find the strength to keep up his act. “You made it!”

“Of course,” Daniel smiles as he pulls Seongwu into a semi-hug before leaving a kiss on his temple. Seongwu feels like his soul would leave his body anytime soon. “Sorry for being late. Got caught in a traffic jam on my way back from the tailor.”

_ His suit is tailored?! _ Seongwu manages to think despite the drumming of his heart.  _ He looks fine as wine but damn, do I have to pay him extra for that? _

“Hey,” Seongwu says in a whisper, loud enough for only Daniel to hear. Fortunately, the music is blasting in full volume in Minhyun’s backyard and he is still in that semi-hug position with Daniel. “Why do you look so…extra?”  _ Extra hot. _

Daniel leans down a bit and brings his lips close to Seongwu’s ear. “But you told me to dress up,  _ hyung.” _ The cheeky brat even enunciated the  _ hyung, _ which is enough to drive Seongwu crazy.

_ Fuck, is he trying to seduce me? ‘Cause it’s definitely working! _ “Yeah, but warn me, at least? I almost lost my cool back there!”

“Is that another way of saying I look good?”

“I—”  _ Dang, he caught me. _ “Well, you do, but I guess you could say I didn’t expect you to appear like this?”

Daniel laughs. “First of all, thank you for the compliment. Second, I do dress up every once in a while. Of course, I dress up comfortably whenever I’m not at school or at work.” 

“So, you’re telling me—” Seongwu eyes Daniel from head to toe. “—that you look like  _ this _ at school?”

“Not specifically in a velvet suit, but yes, I dress up at school, too.”

“What about work? You never told me anything about you working.”

“Ah, that,” Daniel sheepishly scratches his head. “I think Jihoon-sshi knows something about it.”

“Jihoon?” Seongwu turns back to his friends, who are all giving him amused looks, waiting for him to introduce his boyfriend.

“Well?” Jaehwan asks, his eyebrows raised. “Care to introduce your friends to your sweetheart?”

“Shush, babe. Let’s not be impatient,” Minhyun says as he soothes Jaehwan’s back. “Can’t you see they’re still having a moment?”

Jihoon gasps. “My eyes must be deceiving me. Kang Daniel-sunbaenim is really here, and he’s dating Seongwu-hyung?”

“You really believe that they’re dating, Hoonie?” Woojin nudges Jihoon. “You were the one who kept insisting that Seongwu-hyung probably hired someone to act as his boyfriend.”

“You don’t understand,” Jihoon shakes his head dramatically. “That’s  _ the _ Kang Daniel. He’s not the type to get hired to act as someone’s fake boyfriend. He doesn’t have the time for that kind of nonsense!”

Seongwu overhears his friends’ conversation, which piques his curiosity.  _ The Kang Daniel? What kind of person am I fake dating, exactly?! _

“Guys!” Seongwu quickly drags Daniel forward with him to approach his friends. He puts on a rehearsed smile and hesitantly takes Daniel’s hand into his, although his heart almost jumps out of his chest when the younger suddenly squeezes his hand to hold it tighter. Seongwu coughs before facing his friends again. “This is Kang Daniel, a junior from the Computer Engineering department. Daniel, these are my friends. I’ve already told you about them.”

Daniel greets them all with a polite bow before giving them a handshake one by one with his free hand. “It’s really nice to finally meet you all,”

Jihoon, in particular, seems very thrilled to meet Daniel. “Daniel-sunbaenim, it’s such an honor to have you here. If Seongwu-hyung ever does anything stupid, please feel free to contact us so we could drag him away from you right away.”

Seongwu wheezes at that. “What? You—”

“Haha, that won’t be necessary,” Daniel chuckles as he gives Seongwu’s hand another squeeze. “I like having him around no matter what he does.”

Jaehwan almost chokes in the wine that he was in the middle of drinking. “Oh, God. You’ve only been dating for a week but you already sound too whipped.”

Seongwu wants to hide somewhere because his face is probably red as a tomato now.  _ For someone who is faking it, that was very smooth, Kang Daniel.  _

In a feeble attempt to change the subject, Seongwu quickly asks, “So how do you know Daniel, Jihoon-ah?”

“Oh, that’s because of Konnect Impact,” Jihoon says, his eyes looking at Daniel with respect and admiration. “He’s one of the developers of that popular game. I was chosen as the game’s beta tester, and that’s when I met Daniel-sunbaenim.”

“You mean the game that you’ve been playing all day recently?” Woojin asks, dumbfounded. “Wait, Seongwu-hyung is dating a big-time game developer? No way!”

Seongwu gives Woojin’s foot a light kick. “Brat, stop low-key dissing me.” He then turns to Daniel. “So you’re a game developer? How come you’ve never told me?”

“We’re still in the  _ getting-to-know-each-other _ phase remember?” Daniel winks. “Besides, we were too busy talking about important things, so I thought I should just leave the game dev thing for later.”

_ Dude, we only talked about SpongeBob, your cats, my drunken poetic ass, and other nonsense shit. What do you mean important?! _ “Ahaha, well that’s that. At least I know now. What else are you not telling me? You’re full of surprises, you—” Seongwu looks up at Daniel and playfully pinches his cheek, as an act, of course. “—sexy, mysterious man.”

“I think I’m gonna barf,” Woojin comments as he looks away. “I can’t believe this day has come for Seongwu-hyung.”

“Come on, now. Let’s not interrogate him this early,” Minhyun steps in between and points at the buffet table. “Let’s fill our stomachs first. We’ll get to know him as we eat.”

_ Thank God for Hwang Minhyun, _ Seongwu chants mentally as they all proceed to the buffet table.

Although he’s relieved for now, Seongwu knows the night has just begun. 

* * *

  
  


It’s been five minutes already but Seongwu still can’t stop looking at the group picture they just took earlier. He and Daniel were in the center, looking like a pair of Greek gods, if he must say so himself. 

  
  


“We look cute, don’t you think, hyung?”

  
  


Seongwu almost throws his phone in surprise at the sudden appearance of Daniel. He’s a bit tipsy from all the drinking, but still sober enough to save his phone from crashing to the floor. “When did you get here?” he asks Daniel after collecting his senses.

“Just now,” Daniel replies as he takes the seat next to him on the veranda. Seongwu excused himself a while ago to get some fresh air, but he wasn’t aware that Daniel had followed him. “I was worried you’d trip on something.”

“I’m not that drunk yet,” Seongwu laughs. “But I appreciate the concern, and—” he takes a deep breath before continuing. “—everything that you’ve done tonight. I couldn’t have pulled this off without your help. I think my friends are now convinced that we are dating, thanks to the natural skinship that you’ve initiated, along with all that smooth talk.”

Seongwu recalls how Daniel would naturally hold his hand, or how he’d affectionately play with his hair, or how he’d say things as if he meant them—all of Daniel’s words and actions made Seongwu’s heart flutter that he ended up drinking a bit too much earlier, which was also why he excused himself for some fresh air. 

But now, the person that he tried to run away from is right in front of him again. At this rate, he’s probably just gonna excuse himself from the party itself so he could go home and get things over with.

“Your friends do seem convinced,” Daniel says after a while, prompting Seongwu to look at him. “What about you, hyung?”

Seongwu just blinks at him, his thoughts still flying elsewhere. “What about me?”

Daniel’s lips are curved into a smile, but there’s a serious, probing look in his eyes. “Are you convinced?” 

“O-Of what?” Seongwu feels his heart race because of the way Daniel’s staring at him, but he just can’t look away.  _ Maybe it’s the alcohol.  _

Daniel stares at him for a while longer, then he lowers his head and chuckles. “Hyung, I didn’t expect you to be this naïve.”

“What?” Although he’s already a bit sober, Seongwu feels like his head is about to spin again. 

“I told you yesterday that you’ll get an answer tonight as to why I agreed to be your fake boyfriend,” Daniel explains. “Well, you already got the answer.”

Seongwu raises an eyebrow questioningly. “I don’t remember you giving me an answer, though?”

Daniel raises his head and looks at him deep in the eyes. “Think about it. What did I say when Jaehwan asked me how I fell for you?”

“What do you mean—”

> _ I was a freshman back then. I was lost during my first day and ended up in the Literature department’s building. I went to the mini hall and I think there was some kind of event going on? This handsome sophomore suddenly came up on stage to recite the poem he just wrote.  _
> 
> _ I know nothing about poems, but something about the way he delivered it—his voice, his expression, his gestures—moved me to the point where I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I’ve developed a crush on him since that day, but I just couldn’t find the right timing or situation to even approach him. Plus, I was rarely on campus since I was busy developing a game with my friends. _
> 
> _ But a week ago, I met him at the park. After two years of crushing on him, I was finally given an opportunity. I just knew that I couldn’t let it go to waste. _

“—wait, are you saying you weren’t lying?! I thought you only knew about the poetry contest by pure coincidence, but you were really there?” Seongwu exasperates after finally remembering Daniel’s words earlier. He recalls how embarrassed yet amazed he was by Daniel’s ability to pull out a story like that without stuttering. 

“Hyung, that was a legit anecdote, you know,” Daniel feigns a sad tone, like he’s disappointed that Seongwu thought it was all made up. “I still remember that day very clearly.”

Seongwu brings a hand up to his mouth and gasps. “Shit. So, all that smooth talk? They were for real? Were you always that smooth?”

“No!” Daniel waves his hands with a laugh. “I’m not really sure how flirting works, but I hope I did it right?”

“You’re better than me, that’s for sure.” Seongwu just can’t believe that Daniel is openly admitting that he’s flirting with him. “I see. So that’s why you reacted like that when I talked about paying you yesterday.”

“Yeah. To be honest, when you first asked me about the deal, I didn’t quite catch the compensation part because my heart was beating too fast and my mind was too busy thinking about the idea of us fake dating,” Daniel reveals shyly, looking like a wolf who reverted into a puppy.

Seongwu lightly hits his head in contemplation. “Shit, I didn’t mean to treat you like a gigolo. Sorry if I offended you.”  _ Especially since your net worth is a thousand times bigger than what I could offer for this fake dating job,  _ Seongwu thinks after remembering the results of his Kang Daniel google search earlier.

“It’s okay. No offense taken,” Daniel smiles. “If it weren’t for your offer, I wouldn’t have been able to spend time with you like this.”

That bold statement makes Seongwu cough out loud, his face heating up despite the cold breeze of the night. “You’re really something else,”

“I hope that means you find me interesting,” Daniel teases. “And I hope that means you’re open to the possibility of making this real.” When Seongwu turns to look at Daniel again, he’s met with a pair of sincere eyes—eyes that are patiently waiting while secretly hoping for a favorable response. “Or am I moving too fast, hyung?”

Seongwu just stares at Daniel for a while, admiring how the moonlight shines on the blonde’s beautiful face. “Not gonna lie. I’ve been secretly thirsting over you these past few days, and If I knew there was someone like you around campus much earlier, I probably wouldn’t have been single for this long.”

Daniel’s eyes widen in shock, and Seongwu realizes a little too late that he just blurted his thoughts out loud. He covers his face in shame as he crouches until his head is buried against his knees, then he releases a muffled scream.

“Hyung,” Daniel calls out, half-laughing. “Come on. Look at me.”

Seongwu’s head remains buried as he says, “No. Please just pretend that I’m a drunk as fuck college student and ignore my existence.”

Daniel snorts as he gently pulls Seongwu up until they’re face to face again. “How could I do that? When I feel so honored that my long-time crush is apparently thirsting over me?”

“Stop!” Seongwu whines as he attempts to cover his face again, only for his hands to be caught by Daniel. “Kang Daniel, I swear to God—”

“I like you, Seongwu-hyung,” Daniel confesses before Seongwu could pull his hands back. Seongwu feels his whole body go limp from the confession, especially since Daniel’s voice sounded really sweet and genuine when he said it. “Will you give me the chance to show you how much I like you?”

“Seriously, you—” Seongwu stammers, his face reddening further at each passing second. Looking at Daniel just makes him feel shy and nervous and excited and all that. Daniel makes him feel things that clearly point out to  _ something. _ Seongwu knows it’s not every day that he’d meet someone who could make him feel that way, so he decides to give in. 

“I’m a poet, but right now, I want to be a man of action.”

And before Daniel could ask him what that means, Seongwu suddenly cups the blonde’s face in his hands and leans forward to give him a quick peck on the lips. “Or am I moving too fast, Daniel?” Seongwu then teases with the same question that Daniel had asked him earlier.

Daniel looks dumbfounded _ —pleasantly _ dumbfounded. It’s his turn to turn red, and he blushes so hard that it goes all the way to his ears. “Not at all, hyung,” he manages to say after a while. “I like the pace. A lot.”

“I like it, too.” Seongwu grins. “And you, of course.”

“Glad to hear that,” Daniel grins back, his hands catching Seongwu’s again as he leans closer. “But I think that kiss needs a do-over.”

Seongwu laughs as he closes the distance between them. “I was just thinking about that, too.”

  
  
  
  



End file.
